(CNN) – As President Obama ruminates over his second Supreme Court pick in as many years, outgoing Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Obama would be “wise” to consider someone outside the usual suspects on the federal appellate courts.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, the two-term Democrat who campaigned with Obama during his run for the presidency was coy when asked about her own status as a potential Supreme Court pick.

Granholm told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley that she was vetted last year for the Supreme Court before Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor.

As to whether the second time might be the charm for her, Granholm deferred saying she “was going to allow the administration to speak on anything on this go-round.”

Granholm did not hold back, however, about whether Obama should be looking at candidates who are not currently sitting federal judges – a suggestion made often by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, whose committee holds hearings on Supreme Court nominees.

“I think it's a very wise move to consider experience that is not just from the judicial monastery,” Granholm told Crowley.
The Michigan governor, whose final term ends this year, pointed to herself and Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor and current Homeland Security Secretary, as “people that have applied the laws that Congress enacts, that have seen their impact on people.”

“And, you know, for somebody to experience and see what everyday people are feeling and experiencing out there, I think is an important thing to consider,” she said.

“Now, whether that's something that would trump judicial experience, etc. That's obviously the president's call. It’s safe to say that someone like me would be an unconventional nominee, at least in - in the recent appointments that have been made.”